When Life is not the pits......

Hollow Creek Farm is starting a Pitbull club and will be selling really wonderful pitbull paraphernalia....I know this top secret in advance because I have been asked to help design the really cool pitstuff. This is the kind of project I can really sink my teeth into, which pitbulls are given a bad rap for doing themselves. Since the nicest dog I know is a pitbull, I am happy to help educate the public.

In my research to help me come up with a really wonderful, clever, way-cool Pitbull slogan I uncovered some fascinating pitbull facts. Did you know that Pitbulls were the pet of choice for at least two presidents, Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt? Woodrow Wilson presided during the famous Treaty of Versailles, ending the "Great War", WWI.  And do you know how he brokered that peace? He consulted his pitbull, who advised him to be peaceful, but strong.

In fact,  only a generation or so ago, pitbulls were considered the dog of choice by many due to their reputation for determination, dignity and strength. They were considered a symbol of what made America great. There were patriotic posters featuring pitbulls wrapped in American flags. Even more shocking given their poor reputation nowadays, they were called "nanny" dogs because of their loyal and tender, loving protection and care of children. Helen Keller and Fred Astaire both owned pitbulls. So what happened....how did the pitbull become so maligned and hated?

I can answer pretty much any question with two simple choices- 1. Jesus, or 2. Stupidity and Ignorance
.
Try it. Ask anything and either 1 or 2 will fit.
Let's give it a shot:
1. Who will protect me when I dare to go skiing again?
 Answer: Jesus
2. Why will I dare to go skiing again?
Answer: Stupidity and Ignorance
3. What got me into this mess?
Answer: stupidity and ignorance
4. Who will get me out of this mess?
Answer: Jesus
5. Why are we having broccoli again, Mom?
Answer: depends on who is asking this one. If you love broccoli, the answer is Jesus, if you hate broccoli, the answer is stupidity and ignorance.

But you get the point. So why did Pitbulls get such a bad rap? Answer #2- Stupidity and Ignorance.
In the 1980s, dog fighting became a growing underground gambling operation, and the pitbull with their notorious strength and tenacity were bred and used as fighter dogs. Any breed that is not socialized and trained, exercised, and loved can and likely will become dangerous. It is not dogs that should be licensed.... it is people. Unfortunately, there is no way to legislate against stupid, ignorant people owning dogs so it is always the dog that suffers.

Speaking of tenacity..... after working on my pitbull slogans, we traipsed off to our weekly smacking our head against the wall Science Olympiad practice. Our first class was helicopter, to be followed by our trebuchet class. As you recall if you read my blog faithfully, (which is what everyone on the earth should be doing), after months of work and hours and hours of diligent researching and building, we had neither a working helicopter or Trebuchet. With only 4 more meetings til the competition, this was very not good.
But, we tested our 3 helicopters and every single one flew! One of them hovered a half inch off the floor but it hovered for almost a minute. If it can do that at the competition it would likely place.

Then, on to trebuchet. The kids altered their sling release peg, and voila, that treb flung the projectile a mile. At least we think it would have. We flung a little nerf ball indoors to test it, since we couldn't go out in the rain. We are pretty sure it would have gone much further than the dismal flings we had been getting.

So unlike the poor pitbull, our tenacity is paying off.....

Hebrews 10:35-37

³⁵ So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
 ³⁶ You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. ³⁷ For,
   “In just a little while,
   he who is coming will come
   and will not delay.”[

Not Letting Go

I started my book on Honeybun two years ago, when we first found her. I knew something special was happening and I wanted to record it, at first just because I love to write and wanted to keep my family informed. As our unexpected success with her began to look possible, I realized that she was changing us as much as we were changing her. The idea for the book solidified and I wrote many hours a day for about a year. Then I sought publishers. I knew nothing about the book publishing world. I did what every naive, humble book writer wannabe does- booked airfare for NYC where I was sure hordes of admirers would be descending upon me to ask for my autograph before my taping on the Today Show. NOT.
I got writer's cramp, but not from writing my book. No, my fingers cramped from wadding all the rejection letters to toss into the garbage can. The book about a hopeless dog looking for a miracle became the pursuit of a hopeless writer looking for a miracle. The parallel would be breathtaking if it wasn't so depressing.
Many agents expressed interest, gave suggestions, asked for the full manuscript. Some still have it and are either reading it now, or using it to line their bird's cages. Hard to know which at this point. I don't want to be like one of those singers on American Idol that everyone laughs at because they are so deluded about their talent. On the other hand, I really believe the book is good and could be a hopeful inspiration to people struggling to achieve something they cannot achieve.... at least not easily. I have slogged along, through mounds of rejections, wrote a second book, and as you know, practice writing each day on all of you.
So last night, an agent wrote. She says the book has potential and gave me a "to do" list. I love lists. I love the act of checking them off and looking back at how much I accomplished. After two years of clinging to this dream and on the verge of slipping away from discouragement and weariness.... I have boxes to check!

It seems that a major lesson God is slamming me with on every front is that I must hang on to Him, to His direction, and to the goals I think He is directing me towards with every fiber of my being. If homeschool is not going well, and it often is not, I am to remember why I am doing it and hang on, my arms wrapped solidly around His promises. If my prayers for others to know and love God seem unanswered, I need to clasp my hands more fervently and repeatedly in supplication. If I feel attacked and misunderstood, I am to dig my fingernails in to what I believe is His guidance and keep my focus not on others but on Him. If I am rejected for the thousandth time, I have a Lord who was rejected much more severely and completely. When I want to give up, I know He understands, because even He asked that if it be possible, the bitter cup He was about to drink could pass him by, yet not "my will, but thy will."

Each time I revise the book it gets better. Each struggle I endure and hang in there, I get stronger. Each prayer of despair I pray is answered, and sometimes I see victory just around the corner..... though the corner is a very very distant corner. I love the triumphant verse from Invictus by Willian Henley,

It matters not how strait the gate
how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul

but it is not my cry. I cling instead, in weakness, to the master of my fate and the captain of my soul, and I will not let go. Gotta run now, back to my editing.......

"I will not let you go, unless you bless me." Genesis 32:26

PS- keep those votes for Honeybun coming!!!!!